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...hangar outside Zurich, engineers are paring away at the obstacles to a very 21st century challenge: flying a plane around the world powered by nothing but the rays of the sun. If the Solar Impulse project goes to plan, in 2011 a gangly aircraft with the wingspan of an Airbus A380 and the weight of a compact car will attempt to circle the globe in about a month at an average speed of 43 m.p.h. (70 km/h), landing only five times along...
Engineers and environmentalists will watch Solar Impulse with interest, since it offers a rigorous testing platform for extracting maximal power from minimal energy. A recently unveiled prototype, HB-SIA, which will begin flight-testing next year before the larger plane is built for 2011, is a marvel of optimization. Its 200 ft. (61 m) wingspan is covered with photovoltaic cells, which convert the sun's rays into roughly the same amount of energy needed to light a large Christmas tree. That solar power drives four electric engines, and loads four lithium batteries - a quarter of the aircraft's total weight...
...During the day the HB-SIA is expected to climb to 28,000 ft. (8,500 m) so it can preserve battery power after sunset by gliding down to 10,000 ft. (3,000 m) at night. For as much as one-third of the night, says Piccard, the plane will be able to fly its descending course without engine power. But once it reaches its nighttime cruising altitude, the burden of powering the plane will fall to the batteries alone...
...school.” Research came first for Voranaddha Vacharathit ’10, who spent the holiday in a lab culturing cells. Others said cost and travel time led them to stay put for the holiday. Yuliya S. Nikolova ’09, who is from Bulgaria, said plane tickets were too expensive—and flights too lengthy at 12 to 13 hours each way—to make the trip worthwhile. “It was nice not having to worry about doing any work or having deadlines,” said Chute, a forward...
...visiting the Israeli capital, Sadat had courageously done what few Arab leaders would still do today: He declared a commitment to peace in his enemy’s den. His 28-minute plane ride from a military base near the Suez Canal to Tel Aviv permanently changed fears into hopes and transformed hate into trust. As rumors persist of a reprisal of Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations, it is wise to recall the dramatic effect of Sadat’s visit on a possible Arab-Israel peace. To prove his sincerity about living side by side in peace with Israel, President...